Introduction:
In the last one year, since the onset of the Covid19 pandemic, lockdowns, movement restrictions, social distancing norms, indoor living, isolation, and fear of infection, have together contributed to a historical rise in social media usage across the world and also a massive decline in overall physical and mental wellbeing among most adults.
The $4.2 trillion worth wellness industry is rapidly coping with the changing demands of consumers in a post-covid19 world. While the best wellness advice ever is to simply listen to your body, your mind and your self, making sure you follow a few of the most authentic & widely trusted wellness handles on instagram goes a long way in keeping your online wellness journey from being hijacked by either misinformation or information overload.
Being a former instagram influencer, a professional biohacker and a long-term warrior fighting chronic health conditions like C-PTSD, Fibromyalgia and a Brain Tumor, I have researched, evaluated, experimented and applied the contents of thousands of wellness handles across the world, before I put together this list for you. So here are 7 wellness handles which I totally dig and which I suggest you follow to keep a truly ‘healthy’ instagram feed!
1
Instagram Reach: 1.5m followers
What is it about?
Through her very informative feed, Amanda Rocchio helps millions of people get a simplified and authentic understanding of food and nutrition.
What makes it special?
Amanda began her friendship with food after she survived an eating disorder in her younger days, and hence her posts are always focussed on empowering people to make healthier food choices rather than the common approach of using guilt or shame to make people pick healthy eating options.
In her own words, “After rediscovering what a healthy relationship with food looked like, I decided to make it my life’s mission to show that being healthy wasn’t about starving yourself, but rather about fueling your body with the right foods.”
Why follow it?
If you are interested in getting to really know what you are putting in your mouth every day, this is an excellent handle to follow.
Link to Profile: https://www.instagram.com/meowmeix/
2
Instagram Reach: 111k followers
What is it about?
Tally Rye’s handle offers a much needed intuition-based approach to nutrition and movement. If you are feeling the pinch of the highly commercialized, incompassionate and unnatural diet-culture, you are ready to hear the works of this wonderful Personal Trainer, Fitness Instructor, Content Creator and Author based in London.
What makes it special?
Tally’s feed fights the fitness-stereotypes propagated by the highly polarized health industry, and encourages her followers to listen to their own bodies to curate a lifestyle that keeps them fit and healthy.
In her own words, “My goal is to help you ditch diet culture and re-discover a positive relationship with fitness, food and your body so movement is no longer a chore you have to endure but a form of self care that you look forward to.”
Why follow it?
If you are the kind of person who has tried different diets and exercise modalities, and are tired of all the different paths to fitness that are making the circles, follow her. If you are a fitness-newbie and are overwhelmed by all the health and fitness advice being pitched at you, follow her. If you love your body and want to be kind to it instead of beating it into a projected shape, size and weight, follow her. If you...ah, well, just please do follow her!
Link to Profile: https://www.instagram.com/tallyrye/
3
Instagram Reach: 31.4k followers
What is it about?
This handle by Sex Consultant Julia Feldman focusses on sexual health - a highly stigmatised aspect of health which concerns EVERYONE. Her feed is full of educative posts and infographics about healthy sexual habits, practices and attitudes.
What makes it special?
Julia comes from an academic & corporate background, and hence her handle is visibly one of the most structured sexual health feeds you will find on instagram. Her handle looks visually warm with bright colours used in immense contrast. While empowering people with better understanding of their own sexual biology and psychology, her posts also constantly aim to destigmatize sex.
Why follow it?
Whether you are sexually active, abstained, shy or celibate, sexual health is important to everyone. Follow this handle to understand the sexual ongoings of your own body and mind.
Link to Profile: https://www.instagram.com/givingthetalk/
4
Instagram Reach: 1.3m followers
What is it about?
This handle is hosted by Dr. Mark Hyman, who is a practicing family physician and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate in the field of Functional Medicine.
What makes it special?
His feed is very informative and inspires its followers towards healthier eating and lifestyle habits, backed by a combination of conventional medical science and plant-based lifestyle practices. He also proposes adapting the ‘Pegan Diet’ which is supposedly a cross between paleo and vegan diet.
Why follow it?
Follow Dr.Mark Hyman to get extremely effective tips on building your overall health, taking care of chronic conditions, busting medical myths, preventing diseases and using food as medicine.
Link to Profile: https://www.instagram.com/drmarkhyman/
5
Instagram Reach: 358k followers
What is it about?
Mary Ochsner is a podcaster and yoga practitioner who posts regular yoga tutorials, tips on improving your practice and home workouts. Her feed has several inspiring theme-based workout routines, mostly based on yoga.
What makes it special?
The simple and direct approach is what stands out in Mary’s tutorial videos on instagram. She is fun and passionate about her work and her profile makes it very evident in all the laughter she sprinkles in her posts. The simplicity of her approach can definitely inspire one to work out regularly, which seems to be where all her posts are directed at.
In her own words, “It’s my mission to guide you in transforming your life through a consistent, judgement-free, and life-giving daily yoga practice.”
Why follow it?
If you are looking at a focussed & fun yoga-based workout tutorial on instagram, you have reached the right place with Mary!
Link to Profile: https://www.instagram.com/maryochsner/
6
Instagram Reach: 486k followers
What is it about?
A simple handle that can serve our everyday mental health needs through helpful guides on dealing with our own issues, as well as people in our life who may be dealing with mental health challenges.
What makes it special?
Linked to the popular magazine ‘Psychology Today’, the feed here is incredibly helpful and informative about a range of mental health issues and challenges that we all deal with.
Why follow it?
One out of four people in the world suffer from some sort of mental illness. Mental health matters, and if we understand our psychological workings better, we will know how to love and care for ourselves(and our loved ones) better.
Link to Profile: https://www.instagram.com/psych_today/
7
Instagram Reach: 1.2m followers
What is it about?
A comprehensive handle that shares tips and trivia related to self-care, mental health and holistic lifestyle practices.
What makes it special?
They don’t just share helpful wellness advice on a variety of topics, but also blend the expertise of doctors, nutritionists, scientists and other health professionals, making their feed extremely authentic and credible.
Why follow it?
Because wellness means taking care of ourselves every single day, and that is such a huge responsibility we all hold as humans, that everyone of us could benefit from some extra motivation and support!
Link to Profile: https://www.instagram.com/mindbodygreen/
Conclusion:
There are therapists, trainers, nutritionists, yogis, doctors, coaches, healers, meditators, wellness artists, psychiatrists and so many different kinds of wellness professionals and practitioners on social media, who are inspiring their millions of followers across the globe to find their own ways to live healthier and happier lives, to heal from various minor and major health challenges, to handle chronic conditions, to curate healthier lifestyles and to build self-caring mindsets.
It is important to know how to filter through the massive pool of new information that gets posted every hour on instagram, all of which may or may not be factual, relevant, researched or verified. Using social media as a powerful aid in our wellness journey is a great way to support ourselves, but it is my duty to remind you of the most important wellness principle in the world:
‘Be guided by you.’
